Between the Lines
by turbo denali
Summary: A "between the lines" look at a story that begins with friends and ends with lovers.


The world was drowned out by a steady thud in Korra's ears. It wasn't the erratic, racing patter of terror. A shout broke through the beat and her pulse quickened. She bobbed her head and rolled her shoulders before launching a fierce counterattack. Power and exhilaration surged through her limbs as she flowed from one practiced movement to another. The roar of a cheap, poorly maintained engines ripped through the town square, clashing with the racing rhythm of her heart. No, this wasn't terror. This was the intoxicating beat of war drums.

Korra let muscle memory and instinct takeover, her body moving in a graceful stream of strikes as she effortlessly launched a medley of attacks. Earth. Fire. Air. And again, Earth. Scruffy bandits fell one by one. The air filled with shouts, grunts, and choking dust kicked up by rubber tires. And through it all, Korra remained aware of another presence by her side.

Asami.

The familiar blue spark of electricity caught Korra's eye and she diverted her attention just long enough to watch the engineer send one of the bandits tumbling across the hard ground. The war drums faltered for a moment, her heart to stuttering at the sight of Asami in a low crouch. Even through the haze of dust and sweat, Korra could see the glint of her green eyes and the determination etched into her brow. Korra was so caught up in watching Asami that she almost missed the motorcycle heading directly for her. She reflexively bent a protective wall of earth in front of the other woman and felt some satisfaction at the crunching sound of metal meeting rock. When Asami turned to grace her with a grin, face glowing and lithe form rippling with energy, Korra was surprised to recognize the subtle, barely concealed signs of a warrior caught up in the rush of battle. She knew then that Asami - beautiful, poised, _sophisticated_ Asami - was listening to the same war drums. Korra wasn't sure what it meant, but the realization thrilled her.

/

Asami eyed the array of pressure gauges and readouts for each of the airship's eight engines. She ran a few mental calculations and tapped a gloved finger against the console. There wasn't much daylight left, but they would reach Ba Sing Se within a couple of hours as long as they didn't encounter any strong headwinds. The thought of returning in time for dinner should have pleased her. Instead, Asami found herself wishing the day would stretch out a little further and the trip take a bit longer. Her gaze strayed to one of the gauges - or, more accurately, to the distorted reflection in the protective glass. Brass fittings framed the display and cut a curved line through Korra's face, leaving only one brilliant blue eye and a sharp cheekbone visible on the reflective surface. Asami forced herself to look away and swallowed a sigh. On second thought, maybe it was a good thing their field trip was almost over.

After one last look over the readouts on the console, Asami decided she was satisfied that the ship was running as efficiently as possible. She rolled her neck and shrugged her shoulders in an attempt to loosen the tension that had built up over the past few days. There was going to be a hot bath with her name on it when they returned to the city. Asami glanced over her shoulder and saw that Korra had yet to move from her spot by the bulkhead. Her head rested against the window as she stared off into the distance, arms crossed and hips cocked as she casually leaned against the steel railing. Dark brown eyebrows drew together, lending a tint of anger to Korra's otherwise pensive expression. Asami frowned. She knew what that look meant.

The newfound intensity of their friendship was still somewhat fresh, but it was at times like this that their connection felt more like that of lifelong friends. Despite having known Korra for under a year and being good friends for even less, Asami found she was able to read the other woman without either one of them breathing a word. In that moment, she understood that Korra was ready to burst.

"Korra?"

Cold, sharp eyes snapped up and gradually softened as they began to focus on Asami. She read the frustration in them, seeing not the immature Avatar described in the shallow newsprint of the Republic City Herald, but a candid and compassionate friend. Her friend. Her strong, beautiful friend with a lot of audacity and an even bigger heart. Asami shook her head and reminded herself to rein in her thoughts. She couldn't let her mind wander down that path. Korra gave no indication she was interested in anything other than friendship and there was no point in doing anything that might ruin that. Besides, friends were in short supply. It was probably better to simply try to keep the ones she had than risk losing them.

Korra's face remained twisted in a scowl. "I know. The whole thing just feels _wrong_," she said.

Asami felt a hurtful stab and stiffened before realizing that Korra was talking about collecting the tax money. Her cheeks warmed at her momentary lapse of reason. As powerful as Korra might be, she couldn't read minds. "But at least now the Earth Queen might be a little more cooperative," she pointed out.

"_Might_ is the key word," Korra huffed. "She's worse than Raiko. He's an idiot, but at least he seems to _care_ about his people."

Asami placed a gentle hand on Korra's shoulder. There wasn't anything she could say that would help reassure Korra and she doubted that a generic platitude would be much use. The simple contact between them must have been enough, however, because Korra seemed to relax a little despite her frown. Asami knew it was probably just her imagination, but she half believed she felt Korra lean a bit closer, too.

/

**A/N: Yes, i am alive! I know it's been forever since i posted anything, but i'm still overseas visiting family. I'm pretty sure the only reason i have time to write this is because i'm currently fighting off a cold and am finally being granted some much needed me-time (i love them, but most of my family demands a lot of attention and seems allergic to the very thought of peace and quiet). At any rate, i'll probably get a decent amount of writing done over the next couple of days. I'm sure there will be a plethora typos and whatnot since i'm kinda out of it and having trouble focusing right now, so i apologize in advance. Any PMs or comments that point out said typos would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.**


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